The necessity of providing a juncture on a pipe that is professionally finished with a defect-free weld has been appreciated for some time. In pipelines, nuclear reactors, and the like, the necessity of providing junctures that are reliable and durable is of the utmost importance. Frequently, the working conditions associated with the pipe machining equipment have been quite hostile either to the machine or to the machine operator. For example, in nuclear reactors, the necessity for pipe replacements has been such that these types of maintenance procedures are required quite frequently. However, maintenance personnel may only work in an area that is radioactively hot for extremely short periods of time. Accordingly, the desirability of an apparatus for finishing pipes which can be set up in a minimal amount of time, can proceed automatically, and can be initialized and dismantled in a minimal amount of time has obtained increasing importance and acceptance in the industry.
Several difficulties have been associated with the prior art devices. These difficulties include the exposure of certain components of the machine which allows particulates and contaminants to interfere with the drive mechanisms. Another difficulty is the complexity of the construction of the prior art devices, which necessitates laborious procedures in order to set up, operate and dismantle a machine. The complexity of the prior art devices not only creates time-consuming procedures; the prior art lathes are also unwieldy in size, often making it difficult to perform machining and repair operations in relatively tight spaces. Further, the prior art devices are often constructed so that the replacement or repair of a relatively small part necessitates replacement or overhaul of a major or significant portion of the device.
A machining lathe which addresses at least some of the above problems is U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,685 issued Apr. 26, 1988, to the owner of the present invention.